PS3 JailBreaking FAQ - Engineer Translation Guide

Hey, you are new in the PS3 scene ? Heard of some weird abbreviations technician words ? Here will be a Guide of words with the meaning and maybe the explanation to the word.

B4rtj4h and me will be create this guide and will be edited from one of us. If you want to help, post words and describe for what they are i.e. JIG.

Use Ctrl + F to search !

A

Atmel = Is a company which build high quality micro-controllers. These micro-controllers can be flashed with Atmel Flip.

Atmel Flip = A program to flash micro-controllers from Atmel, to upgrade i.e. your Jailbreak Device with the newest *.hex.

B

.bin file = Many clone JBDs do not support the original .hex file. This was because the "releaser" of the clone wanted some sort of control. So they decided to make .bin files. The only nice thing from this is they can contain multiple payloads!

BM = Means "Backup Manager". With this manager you can backup your games on which you have in your BD drive. You can also play backed up games which are in the LAUN12345/OMANxxxxx folder.

C

Cell / Cell BE / CBEA = Cell Broadband Engine Architecture, microprocessor architecture developed by Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment, Toshiba, and IBM. A Cell combines a general-purpose Power Architecture core of modest performance with streamlined coprocessing elements which greatly accelerate multimedia and vector processing applications, as well as many other forms of dedicated computation. It was introduced at 90nm. Later, PS3 model numbers starting with CECHG uses the 65nm version, while the PS3 Slim (CECH-20xx) used the 45nm version.

CFW = Means "Custom Firm Ware" is like an OS on your Computer (I.e. Windows). This CFW is made by an Dev and is not official. The Dev can add/delete several things to this CFW, it's like his own Firm Ware which he wants to spread with the world.

Debug = Debug is a command that can act as an assembler, disassembler, or hex dump program allowing users to interactively examine memory contents (in assembly language, hexadecimal or ASCII), make changes, and selectively execute COM, EXE and other file types. It also has several subcommands which are used to access specific disk sectors, I/O ports and memory addresses.

Debug Firmware = Same as other firmwares, but specifically for Test/Debug PS3's. Try to install that Firmware on a retail console will gives you an Error (8002F029) but not brick your console.

Debug Options = These options are mainly meant for PS3 software developers to Debug their own software are are normally only available on PS3 Test models but some options can be enabled on retail PS3's by using PSgroove exploit.

Dev = The short version for Developer. A person who creates a software on his own, or in groups, which are not official by Sony.

DLC = Means "Downloadable Content", is an addon for a game which offers you new content.

E

Emulator = An emulator duplicates (provides an emulation of) the functions of one system using a different system, so that the second system behaves like (and appears to be) the first system. In the PS3 application, emulators duplicate another game console in order to play games that was initially intended for that console only.

F

Firmware Spoof = Spoofing Firmware version is a way of getting console to report that it is on higher firmware version, Some spoofs only change the on screen displayed firmware version, other spoofs will report higher firmware version for games or even PSN, These spoofs can allow some games requiring higher firmware to be played and in some cases even PSN access for consoles on older firmware.

Flash = This means to upgrade/downgrade your Jailbreak Device (micro-controller) with an other Firmware.

G

GPU / VPU = Graphics Processing Unit / Visual Processing Unit, does the calculating work of the display output on PC's and Gaming Console's. It can also be used for GPGPU computing, like Folding@Home, for calculating nearly everything.

H

.hex = This is a file that can be burned* to the JBD. Still much JBDs support these files. (*copy to the JBD)

HDCP = High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel, which encrypts the audio and video content as it travels across connections. HDCP is supported at the following connections : DisplayPort (DP), Digital Visual Interface (DVI), and High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Gigabit Video Interface (GVIF) and Unified Display Interface (UDI). The PS3 supports it via the "bitstream" option.

HEX (code) = Type of computer code that consists of the numbers 0-9 and the letters A-F.

Homebrew = Is a software, which can be a game/program/etc. Which is created by an Developer who wrote this program on his own. This is not an official program by Sony.

Hypervisor = The top level of security on a PS3 , all functions on Standard PS3 must get permission from Hyper-visor, If Hyper-visor refuses permission the PS3 basically crashes.

HV = Hypervisor, the top level of security on a PS3 , all functions on Standard PS3 must get permission from Hyper-visor, If Hyper-visor refuses permission the PS3 basically crashes.

I

IDA = Interactive Disassembler, more commonly known as simply IDA, is a disassembler used for reverse engineering and can be used as a debugger.

IDC scripts = These scripts make it possible to extend the operation of an Interactive disassembler (IDA). Some helpful scripts are provided, which can serve as the basis for user written scripts. Most frequently scripts are used for extra modification of the generated code.

I/O = Input / Output, is the communication between an PC and an information processing system or human. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it.

J

Jailbreak (PS3) = Jailbreaking the PS3 is the ability to trick the PS3 with a third party device in order to load and run applications that are not approved/licensed by Sony.

Jailbreak Device = The third party device (development boards, calculators, iPods, etc) that simulates the official Sony JIG and is programmed (on a PC) with a payloads/hexes in order to disables certain securities and to enable a high level debug mode on the PS3.

JBD = This stands for: Jail-Break-Device

JIG = A JIG is a USB unit from Sony that can place the PS3 in "service mode". The scene has copied the stick and made a PSJailbreak from it. (for more info see: Sony Service Jig)

K

Kernel = The kernel is the central component of most computer operating systems; it is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources (the communication between hardware and software components). Usually as a basic component of an operating system, a kernel can provide the lowest-level abstraction layer for the resources (especially processors and I/O devices) that application software must control to perform its function. It typically makes these facilities available to application processes through inter-process communication mechanisms and system calls.

N

Nand (Flash) = Nand-flash memory forms the core of the removable USB storage devices known as USB flash drives, as well as most memory card formats and solid-state drives available today.

Nounauth Payload = Payload that has no unauthorized syscalls and therefore installs game data in very same way as an unexploited console would using a real disk.Not all games work with this method so payloads with unauthorized syscalls have greater compatibility.

O

OM = Means "Open Manager", is an backup manager. With this manager you can backup your games on which you have in your BD drive. You can also play backed up games which are in the LAUN12345 folder.

OFW = Means "Official Firm Ware", which is made by Sony (PS3).

P

Payload = The name that has been given to the exploit code that is injected into PS3 when booting with a PSgroove device attached.This payload alters some PS3 firmware in RAM memory to enable extra features for Homebrew etc.

Peek = Is the PS3 command (Syscall) for reading data from a certain memory location address.

PIC = Micro-controller that means "Peripheral Interface Controller". Some Jailbreak Devices are build with an PIC chip, they are cheap and some of them can't be flashed.

Poke = Is the PS3 command (Syscall) for writing data to a certain memory location address

PPE = Power Processor Element, is a general purpose CPU. The PPE of the Cell is 64 bit and manipulate data in Big Endian.

1 PPE (Power Processor Element)

3.2Ghz

64 bit, Big Endian

2 threads (can run at same time)

L1 cache: 32kB data + 32kB instruction

L2 cache: 512kB

Memory bus width: 64bit (serial)

VMX (Altivec) instruction set support

Full IEEE-754 compliant

R

RSX 'Reality Synthesizer' = Is an GPU, codeveloped by nVidia and Sony for the PS3, which is based of the nVidia 7800GTX graphics processor. The RSX has separate vertex and pixel shader pipelines.

Regions Codes = Every PS3 game is region free, as long as you play it in HD (720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) you won't have any issues. All PS3 games have a serial number containing a four character prefix, followed by a five digit suffix. The prefix is as follows :

The first letter indicates the storage format. "B" is for Blu-ray disc format. The second letter indicates if the game is first party (C = Sony), or licensed from third party (L = others). The third letter indicates: A=Asia, J=Japan, U=United States, or E=Europe. The last letter indicates the type: D = Demo, S = Game.

S

SDK = Official Sony software Development kit, Normally only distributed to licensed developers of PS3 software but sometimes these SDK's get leaked onto Internet.

Sony Service JIG = Is a special USB dongle used in Sony service centers to attempt to re-flash consoles that have corrupted firmware or consoles that are completely bricked.This Official Sony JIG requires a special Sony in-house LAN connection to re-flash firmware.

SPE = Synergistic Processing Elements, the PS3 has eight SPE which are geared towards processing data in parallel. One SPE is disabled to increase yield. One SPE is reserved for the hypervisor, so PS3 programs can take advantage of 8 threads. The SPE of the Cell is 64 bit, and manipulate data in Big Endian.

Need help with Glossary

Hay Guys, sorry for my bad english. As a total noob and just strating to use CFW and learning about the things that are available on homebrew, but getting dizzy due to multiple terms which i not familiar with, please kindly help with some type of glossary (i.e. DEX, CEX, Hash, rap file, PARAM.info, etc)

Dex is a not for retail systems. Cex is for retail systems. Hash is what happens to systems that are downgraded. Param are in the games that you dump saying what your system should be as far as firmware. There is more to it but for basic use you are good to know that much.